Vaclav Prusa and Marie Jirsova
Lived in the village of Veprikov, near Chotebor in the Czech Republic.
Children:
Michael Prusa, born September 7, 1865 in the village of Veprikov, near Chotebor in the Czech Republic. Married Frantiske Jirsova (daughter of Josef Jirsa and Anny Jarolinova), born Janauary 5, 1873, also in Veprikov.
Michael Prusa and Franitiske Jirsova
Children:
Josef Michael Prusa, born January 1, 1892 in Veprikov. Died 1965, Sioux Falls, SD. US
Frantisek Prusa, born October 1, 1896 in Veprikov. Died 1970. Veprikov, Czech Republic
Joseph Michael Prusa immigrated to the US in 1914 at the age of 22. This is what is stated on his naturalization papers, but he always told his children he came to the U.S. in 1912.
He departed from Bremen, Germany and arrived in New York on April 22, 1914 (according to the naturalization papers). The ship was the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. He came with some other men (possibly 5) from his village, three of the men were: Bil ek, Benesh and Anton Remar.
Joseph and his friends may have immigrated to avoid fighting in the war. This is what Frantiska Prusa Hadlickova conveyed to Mary Soukup. World War I started in 1914, the assasination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 was the pretext for the war. Czechs were the lower class in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, they were used as the front-line "cannon fodder," as Carolyn Prusa's husband Robert Boyd put it. So immigrating was definetly the smart thing to do!
Joseph's brother Frantisek probably fought in the war, there was a portrait of him in uniform which Joseph and Marie had. (The portrait has been returned to his daughter, Frantiska who continues to live in Veprikov.)
Joseph landed in Ellis Island. From there he went to Omaha, Nebraska to work in a meat packing plant. Friends who had immigrated earlier had found the job for him. He was unable to stand the smell and quit the job to work as a hired hand near Howells, Nebraska.
Joseph met Marie Vitek while working in Omaha. They were married in St. Wenceslaus Church in Howells on February 17, 1917. Father Joseph Drbal was the priest. The attendants as listed on the back of their wedding portrait were Anton Remar (one of the men Joseph had immigrated with) and Katie Kresl, both from Omaha. A third man is identified as Frank Mucil of Dodge. It is not know what his relationship was. The marriage license lists the attendants as Clinton Remar and Catharina Kressl. (Joseph's mother's name was also Americanized to Frances, from Frantiske).
Joseph and Marie continued to live near Howells until 1924. All three of their children were born in Nebraska; Mary Cecelia Prusa Soukup November 21, 1917, Frank James Prusa July 28, 1919 and Joseph Jacob Prusa December 14, 1921 in Cumming County.
Mary recalls moving to Dante, South Dakota (approximately 8 miles from Wagner) in 1924 by train. Joseph worked as a farm hand for the Cihak's. Mary and Frank started school in Dante, they walked to school. After moving near Wagner the children attended country school. None of the children learned to speak English until after starting school. The family lived on 5 different farms in the Dante-Wagner area. Mary left to attend beauty school in Omaha in 1938. She returned to South Dakota in 1939. She opened her own salon in Gary after working briefly for another beautician.
Joseph, Marie, Frank and Joe moved to the Vermillion area in 1939 and lived on a farm on the bluff road. While there Joe met his wife, Phyllis and Frank met his w ife, June. The family only stayed a short time because there was not a very large Bohemian population in the area. Joseph and Marie spoke little English.
A farm in Lincoln County, Minnesota was purchased, approximately 12 miles southwest, between Canby and Hendricks. Joe and Phyllis farmed the land after their marriage from 1941 to 1944 when they moved to the Vermillion area. Frank and June moved onto the home place in 1946 when Frank returned from World War II. Joseph and Marie bought a farm northwest of Canby in 1947.
In the fall of 1948 they sold the farm. They moved to Canby and bought an older home, then in 1950 they built a new home on 410 W. 2nd Street.
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